This morning, Ed came back again. I dreamt of us at home, and he was telling me that he had a tooth ache. When I looked into his mouth, I noticed that there was some odd, off-white growth at his gum line, right under one of his teeth. When I pressed on it, it was squishy, as though there was pus inside of it. I got worried and told him that he needed to see the dentist right away. He probably had some sort of infection that needed treatment. Because he didn’t have dental insurance, he was hesitant to go, and I said it didn’t matter because I’d pay for his treatment. He reluctantly consented.

Ed was really responsible with his teeth. Probably until the day he died, he wore his retainer and mouth guard (apparently, teeth grinding runs in our family). He brushed his teeth twice a day and flossed thoroughly each night. We were both doomed because of our parents’ genes in the dental department, so we both had braces and retainers twice, and gum surgery (different types, though). That wasn’t fun for us, but I’m sure our dentists and orthodontists were elated because of the extra money in their pockets.

After he passed, we wanted to put his retainers in his casket, but we weren’t allowed to because there was metal in them (you can’t bury anything metal if you are being cremated. Good fact to know). My mother, after a few weeks, reluctantly discarded them. It wasn’t an easy thing to do. What if Ed’s spirit came back looking for them?